(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the agriculture, and more particularly to controlling blowing sand in agricultural fields. Farmers in agricultural areas having problems with blowing sand are persons having ordinary skill in this art.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In certain agricultural areas, there is an agricultural problem with blowing sand. This problem is prevalent in West Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and parts of Oklahoma. The problem arises in the spring when there is very little vegetation growing on the land. This problem is particularly evident when the crops are small, e.g., about 3" high or less. The plants at that stage are not large enough to prevent the sand from blowing, and they are also so tender that they are burnt or otherwise damaged by the blowing sand.
The problem arises only after a heavy rain. When the heavy rain falls upon loose cultivated soil, it classifies the soil. The water mixes with the soil. With the water mixed with the soil, the lighter, smaller particles or the soil rise to the top, and the heavier, coarser particles of soil sink to below the small fine surface particles. Therefore, the surface of the earth is covered with a layer of fine, light sand. When dry winds (generally from the West) blow over the land, they cause the top of the soil to dry out and the sand to blow. The top fraction of an inch will be dry and blowing while the soil below the top crust is moisture laden.
As used herein, by the term "divot", it is meant one pit, poc, or hole in the ground made by a single spike, prong, or small spade of a rotating spider, and also the mound or hill of dirt ejected by it when it is removed from the ground. Applicant recognizes that the dictionary indicates turf is associated with a divot. However, as used herein, there will be no turf associated with the divot, merely coarse moist soil from beneath the upper dry, fine, light sand crust.
Farm implements called "sand fighters" have been developed to control the blowing sand. If a divot one or two square inches of coarse, moist soil are kicked up per square foot of surface area, this will prevent the soil from beginning to blow. Therefore, if a farmer begins fighting the sand on the windward side, he can prevent the sand from blowing. As he works the field from the West to the East (assuming a West wind) he can prevent the sand from blowing. Inasmuch as the sand will destroy the crop within a few hours time, it is necessary for the farmer to cover large amounts of land in a small period of time. For example, often it is desirable to be able to run a sand fighter over 160 acres in two hours time.
It will be apparent that if so much area is to be covered in such a short time, that it is necessary that a very wide swath of land must be worked with every pass of the tractor, and that the tractor must travel at a high speed. Therefore, a sand fighter is very wide and has very little draft. Particularly, sand fighters were designed to have kickers or spiders rotating on an elongated shaft, i.e., if a shaft were pulled behind a tractor, the shaft being at right angles in the direction of draft, and where, e.g., 60' long, that a pipe or a plurality of pipes could be telescoped over the shaft so that the pipe is rotatable upon the shaft. Then, if spiders were spaced about one foot apart, and if each spider had a diameter of about 12", and there were three points on each spider, the points on the spider would be spaced apart about one foot in a circumference. Therefore, as this instrument were rolled along the ground, there would be one divot of fresh coarse, moist soil kicked up for every square foot of land.
As stated above, this met the criteria to prevent the sand from starting to blow; and therefore, would control the blowing sand. It will be apparent that such an implement would be very wide and could normally be pulled at the highest speed the tractor would travel, generally called "road gear". It is interesting to note that, as indicated above, often this operation would be carried on when there was danger of the tractor becoming stuck in the soft soil, and that sometimes on low spots of the field that tended to be muddy, that the tractors would have to be turned and not pass through these areas of the field because of the danger of getting the tractor stuck in the mud.
Often the sand fighters described above will be run at an angle to the rows. I.e., instead of having the tractor follow rows, it would be at an angle to the rows.
The sand fighters described above were developed and perfected to be towed behind a tractor at a time when the crops were generally planted in the furrow, i.e., the land would be bedded with intervening furrows, and the crop would be in the furrow, and the general level of the soil would be higher than the soil in which the crop was growing. However, often times, the soil would be almost level from the rain, if not from cultivation. Also, with only one square inch or so of soil uprooted for every square foot (144 square inches), although some crop was destroyed in the operation, it would be a rather insignificant amount.
At the present time, a majority of the cotton is "bed planted", i.e., the crop is seeded or drilled into the top of the bed rather than into the furrow. Therefore, it is more susceptible to damage from the random cultivation resulting from the traditional sand fighter described above.